Flashlights are useful devices employed by various people and professions, such as police, firemen, military, and even maintenance workers. Flashlights are useful for illuminating dark or darkened areas or environments. Additionally, waterproofed or sealed flash lights have also become very useful in underwater environments. While flashlights have been proven to be useful devices, there are some applications where flashlights combined with a device to record or capture an image would make the flashlight even more useful. For example, a person may use a flashlight in combination with a content capturing device, such as a camera or video camera, in order to illuminate a subject before capturing content. Flashlights combined with cameras and content capturing devises have previously been known. However, such devices require that the light from the flashlight be turned off when the content or subject is captured in order to reduce washout of the photograph. Prior art has attempted to resolve these issues. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,878 to Raskas (“Raskas”) teaches using a lens guide or shield to eliminate washout. However, the device taught by Raskas has many disadvantages, especially when used under water.
First, lens cover taught by the Raskas does not fully eliminate the washout caused by light emitted from the illumination light source because light still interferes with the content capturing device or camera because of light leakage between the lens plate and the lens guide taught by Raskas. Additionally, the device disclosed by Raskas cannot be used under water. The lens guide of Raskas protruding through and above the lens cover of Raskas makes the device taught by Raskas not operational for under water purposes as water would leak into the housing through small openings between the lens cover and the lens guide, especially deep under water when exposed to high pressure forces. The protruding nature of the lens guide makes the device taught by Raskas not operational or functional for under water purposes.
Other cameras and content capturing devices using light emitting devices are taught by the prior art, but there are several disadvantages to those embodiments as well. For example, many cameras have light emitting devices that provide a beam not aligned with the field of view of the camera. This is a problem for divers who want to use the light emitting devices as a flashlight to illuminate an area. For example, many cameras have lights or illuminating devices that have a beam or pattern that is not substantially aligned with the field of view of the camera A user cannot properly operate, with one hand, the camera as both a flashlight and a camera or content capturing device because a user cannot, using one hand, illuminate an area and also capture content coming from that same area without having to awkwardly manipulate the prior art devices, which can be very difficult when wearing scuba diving gear. As a result, a user constantly maneuvers these types of devices to properly aim the beam for use as a flashlight. As a result, there exists a need for improvements over the prior art and more particularly for a better flashlight for use under water.